You sit at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, a blank piece of paper and a pen. You are determined that you will not leave the table until you come up with a strategic plan for decluttering your home. And so you sit. That first cup of coffee turns into a second and then a third, until the pot is completely gone. Still no plan. What do you do?
First, understand that you are not alone. Decluttering a home is not an easy task by any means. It can be especially difficult if you have spent years collecting the clutter that now needs to be removed. There is just so much to consider that even coming up with a starting point seems more than you can manage.
There are essentially three approaches to decluttering your home. These are listed below, along with explanations. Please do not hesitate to contact My Divine Concierge if you need assistance with decluttering. We specialize in helping people remove, reorganize, and make effective use of storage for a clutter-free home.
Method #1 – All in, Full Throttle
The first approach to decluttering your home is to go all in, full throttle. You set your mind on the goal and work feverishly until you achieve it, not allowing anything to stand in your way from start to finish. This might be your favored approach if you are traditionally a go-getter who does not like to stop once a project has been started.
The major advantage of this approach is one of being able to see through your decluttering project in as short an amount of time as possible. The big disadvantage is burning yourself out before you actually finish. If you’re up for the sprint, go for it. If you are not, you could be out of gas before you make any serious headway.
Method #2 – A Little Here and a Little There
The direct opposite of going full throttle is to adopt the ‘a little here, a little there’ approach. This approach is one of just doing little things whenever you have the time. It requires very little energy above and beyond what you give to normal housework. It also doesn’t require the zeal of a collegiate athlete or the motivation of a multilevel marketer.
What is the advantage of this approach? Its gradual nature prevents you from becoming physically or mentally exhausted. As for the primary disadvantage to this approach, it is one of never actually finishing the job because so very little effort is put into it over an extended period.
Method #3 – A Steady Plodding Along
The third approach is one that we found works best for many people. You could say it is halfway between the first and second methods. This model is one of getting started and then steadily plodding along day by day, week by week, until it’s done. There is a caveat to this approach, though: it only works if you have a plan in place and you stick with that plan.
Steadily plodding along is advantageous in a number of ways. First, it is not terribly exhausting. Second, it is self-motivating inasmuch as you see yourself making progress with every completed mini project. If there is a disadvantage, it is one of not keeping up. It’s easy to fall behind the further you work through your plan, so you really have to have a commitment to it.
The good news is that there is no right or wrong way to declutter. At the end of the day, it’s best to do whatever works for you. At My Divine Concierge, we are always ready to come in and help if you need assistance with decluttering. We are decluttering experts more than capable of helping you do what needs to be done on your home.